Hold Me
by Leveragelover
Summary: Nate comforts Sophie. Takes place during the King George Job.


**A/N: Wow! I finally come to you guys with a new story. It was originally written for the Ten Weeks Of Nate and Sophie over at LJ but well, you can see I finished it wayyyyy too late so this is what I ended up with. Not really sure if I liked how it ended but I couldn't think of any other way. **

_Hold Me_

When her first quiet, suppressed sob was audible Nate knew that her constant tossing and turning was more than just restlessness. At first he thought he was imagining things but then he heard it again and he slowly became worried. The blankets that had been covering him when he had first laid down to sleep were now in a twisted mess at his feet. After having a day filled with trepidation and ambivalence he was having a very hard time get his brain to shut off and allow him to sleep. That, however, was not the only thing that was keeping him from sleeping. Sophie had become restless as the minutes ticked by and soon she was tossing and turning and groaning in aggravation because she could not sleep. But now it seemed the origin of her restlessness had finally come to the surface. He rolled over on his bed so he could look at Sophie, tucking his arms in against his bare chest.

She was crying. His heart broke. Her blankets were at her feet in a twisted mess much like his were. Through the night his eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness and he could see her pillows had ended up on the floor. She was laying on her stomach with her arms splayed across the width of the bed, her head resting on the bed but her eyes closed and tears pouring down the side of her face. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and dropped onto the floor silently. There was little space in between their two beds so he only had to shuffle across the floor a little bit before he was pressed up against the side of the bed.

Sophie was still crying ever so quietly. The muscles in her jaw flexed and shifted under her skin as she clenched her teeth to try and hold her sobs inside. In response her back arched up slightly as her chest convulsed and shook from the pressure of having to hold it all inside of her. At this point Nate could watch her suffer no longer so he reached up and put his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes shot open instantly and her body jerked back in response.

"It's alright, Sophie, it's me Nate. Shhh…it's gonna be alright. Everything's gonna be fine," Nate whispered in reassurance to Sophies incoherent whimper of confusion. Her skin was scorching under his own, but it was so soft and smooth to the touch and he craved more of it, but now was not the time for that.

She struggled to regain what was left of her composure. Oh hell, what composure? It had degraded through the night as she was trapped inside her mind and relentlessly tortured by it. She wiped away the tears that were left on her face and pulled in a shaky breath. "Did I keep you up?" She whispered back weakly.

"Doesn't matter. What was keeping you up?"

She was too tired, too sad, and too exhausted to even try and lie to him about it. And even then he would see right through it and poke at her about it until she let up on it. He was just too caring about her. "Just thinking about William and what I did to him. I…I don't…it hurt the most….what I did to him…"

Nates eyes were soft and sincere as he listened to her. He truly did care about what was going on through that pretty little head of hers, and sometimes he was worried that she wasn't right up there. At least in this state of vulnerability she had revealed a sliver of the inner battle raging on in her mind. "What did you do to him?"

She looked at him as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Didn't you listen, Nate? Haven't you been listening to me this whole time?!" But soon that look started to crumble and the tears started to pool back into her eyes. They glinted in the moonlight like diamonds but they contrasted eerily with her big, black irises. She looked so unbearably raw and afraid.

"Sophie, Sophie, Sophie of course I've been listening to you," He whispered soothingly. "I know...your past is haunting you and it hurts...Trust me, I understand, Sophie, I do." A big tear dripped out of the corner of her eye and he reached out to wipe it away gingerly. She laughed a watery laugh at this gesture, making him frown. "What?"

"You're touching me."

He opened his mouth to retort with a sarcastic response but decided that wouldn't the best thing in the world to help an emotionally distressed woman. Instead he smiled at her and spoke with a soft, caring voice. "Do you want me to make you some tea?" Sophie nodded. "Do you want me to turn the light on?" She nodded again.

Nate took his hand off of her shoulder and placed it on the edge of the bed to help himself stand up. But before he turned the light on for her he walked over to his suitcase and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and pulled them on. There was no way he was dealing with a turned on Sophie at this time of night. He walked back over to the lamp, bending down and searching in the darkness for the switch. His fingers brushed along the tiny nob below the bulb and he twisted it clockwise. The light flicked on and made him jerk back a bit at the sudden flash of light. He blinked several times to get used to it and then he went over to the small kitchenette.

"What kind of tea would you like?"

By now she had grabbed her pillow off the floor and was now relaxing in the comfort of it. After spending hours tossing and turning her body was sore and now she was simply enjoying laying there with her pillow. "Do they have earl grey?"

"Yes they do. You want some of that?"

"Yes, please," She said with a smile on her face. The smile quickly faded though as a burning sensation ripped up through her throat and flooded her eyes with tears. The tears poured from her swollen eyes; she choked on the suffocating memories that came with them.

William. Oh god, poor William. The girl in the holding cell. Poor, poor girl. And auntie...so naive. A gentle hand on the side of her face. A strong arm pulls her against a warm body. Embrace. Her fingers slip - grasping - hoping to hold on. Nathan. Words so soft. So heartfelt. Muddled in her mind like clouds across the sky. Her tears they slow. The thoughts she chokes on thin. Everything feels better now. Everything is soft and warm and gentle. She's in his embrace like she always should have been and somehow...that was all she needed.

THE END


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